to be brave
by Ime90
Summary: When the dust settles, the world will not remember Brave. OR, Sam Wilson does not get paid enough to play mediator in a superhero threesome. OR, Bucky needs a hug and so does Brave. OR, Pietro and Wanda don't understand the 'issues' surround their relationship- sharing is caring, isn't it? A sort-of comedy, sort-of dark, sort-of second coming of the winter soldier drama. Sort of.
1. Chapter 1

[to be brave]

 _Here's the thing about twins; they may be twice the fun, but they're also twice the trouble. "Pietro, stop playing keep-away with Brave. Wanda deserves a chance with her too." Sam was too old to play mediator in a superhero threesome. OR: Pietro and Wanda don't understand the 'issues' surrounding their relationship. Sharing is caring, isn't it?_

[break]

Brave was sure she must have pissed off some sort of demigod in her last life. She had gone to college to become a doctor and ended up as one of the most infamous field medics the US Army had ever seen. She had saved more lives with a pen and some hot water than most ER Doctors had with a full team. So when a bunch of suits came and abducted her from her modest studio apartment in Seoul, South Korea, she was pissed. "Do you know who I fucking am? I'm like the double-oh-seven of medics. I have more soldiers in my pocket then the US actually has employed. People will notice my disappearance.", she hissed to the nearest agent. The eagle insignia tickled something in the back of her brain ( _laceration to the left bicep, contusion on the temporal frontal- shit, internal hemorrhaging starting to swell, need to ease it, need to fix, need need need-_ ) She blinked.

"Your name is Brave Young. You've been working with Dr. Cho on project CRADLE." He was tall and buff and dark and swaddled in more leather than should actually be necessary. "I don't give a shit, pirate fucker. Tell your goons to let me go and maybe I won't sick my kids on you." No dice. The asshole wasn't even phased. "I am not a pirate fucker, as you so eloquently put it. I'm actually the head of SHIELD- Director Fury. Those kids you're talking about? I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume you're referring to the couple hundred lives you have saved during your tenure as a field medic." She bared her teeth. "Charming. I'm not here to fight you or your 'kids', Ms. Young. I'm here to ask for your help. Right now, there is war for planet earth being battled in Sokovia. Thousands of civilians are trapped on the floating country, cornered in by mass-murdering robots. I have a team of specialized agents working on the situation as we speak. You may have already heard of them- the world calls them the Avengers." He paced forward, handing her a glass tablet. "I'm not foolish enough to believe they'll all get out of there unscathed. As it is, we've suffered more losses than acceptable in the civilian population." She gave a bitter laugh. "Oh? And how many casualties are acceptable to you, Director? A few hundred? A thousand?" His one eye bore uncomfortably into hers. "Zero. The acceptable number of casualties concerning civilians is zero."

He reached forward and undid the thick metal bracelets on her wrists. A familiar rush of coolness flooded her veins and a feeling like coming home came upon her. "Like them? Tony Stark designed them specifically to suppress genes in the DNA not similar to those of mundane origins." Her eyes widened. "M-mutant cuffs. You designed mutant cuffs." Her chest felt tight and something like electricity sparked at her fingertips. "That's right. The government has done its best to turn a blind eye at your abilities, seeing as how you've single-handedly saved more soldiers than any field medic since the conception of the Red Cross. But we need you. The world needs you. And I'm sorry to say I can't give you a choice. Brave Young, you are being charged with the murder of George and Rebecca Young." Her mouth went dry. She felt hot tears well up as she struggled to take deep breaths. The hellicarrier became stilled and hushed. "Let me guess", she croaked, "You're willing to forgive and forget if I commit myself to your little boy band." He gave her a thin smile. "I don't like doing this. But with what's at stake? The extinction of the human race, the destruction of planet earth, the ruin of humanity- I can't take any chances. The world needs you, Ms. Young. And I am burdened with the pleasure of fulfilling of its needs." His heavy boots clanked as she was escorted away to another room. Agent Hill fixed her eyes ahead of her and stoutly ignored the choked sobs coming from the young girl beside her.

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Pietro gazed in wonderment at the floating aircraft before him. "This- this is SHIELD?" Natasha gave him a small smile. "It's what it's supposed to be.", Captain clapped him on the shoulder. Pietro felt a grin stretch across his face. "This is not so bad." And then he was off, rounding up civvies to herd them on a life-boat. Blink. The group in the supermarket. Blink. The children under the school pavilion. Blink. A family in their car. Blink. Wanda. "Alright, we need to change our plan. End game is the switch in the center of the city. If Ultron gets his hands on that, Sokovia is going for a joy ride. Do you copy? All Avengers, rendezvous at the church, stat!", Captain's voice called clear over the earpiece. Pietro blinked. At least he was the first one there.

[break]

Brave stared blankly at the uniform before her. A black kevlar suit with the SHIELD insignia plastered on her right breast. It was tight and flexible and honestly looked like someone threw a bucket of paint on her and called it clothes. "This is an intercomm. It's already tuned in on the correct channel. Through this, you may make contact with anybody also wearing one.", Agent Hill passed her a small, clear chip. She shoved it in her ear and shivered as it expanded to fit snugly. "Based on what you've been equipped with in previous missions, I've taken the liberty to pack this utility belt for you. Sedatives, pain controllers, disinfectants- it's there. There should be a built in holster for two guns and and three slips for knives. Are you comfortable being offensively equipped?" Brave scowled. "I'm a field medic. What do you think?" She ripped the belt out of Maria's hands and clipped it on to herself, grabbing the weapons laid out before her on the small table. She checked the magazine, grabbed two extra and loaded herself up. One knife went into her right boot and the others were tucked on her right shoulder and outer left thigh. ( _Don't you see, sweetheart? You were made for this. You're a tool. You belong to us. So stop fighting it-_ ) She blinked.

"Will Director Fury be supervising my work in the field? Who am I reporting too? Civilians first or do I make the Avengers my priority?", her blank eyes bored holes into Maria's. The elder agent refrained from shifting uncomfortably. There was something...odd, about the way she just...shut down. Like a doll. "Captain Rogers will be your superior on the field. Delegate questions henceforth to him. Priority will be the civilians, but keep in mind the worth of America's first and only Super Soldier." ( _Know your worth, sweetheart. Know who you belong to. Know who you are obligated to follow. Stop fighting it-_ ) She blinked. "Understood. ETA on Sokovia?" Brave stood straight with a deceptive elegance- as if silk threads were bound at her joints, allowing her grace and measure in her previously clumsy and ungainly steps. "We'll make contact in five. I'll take you to the dock. Director Fury says you can make your way down?" A nod. "Alright. Prepare yourself. We're dropping you right into the belly of the beast."

[break]

Captain Steve Rogers had never seen anything like her in his ninety something years of living. She had dropped down from a jet with speed he could barely track. She couldn't have been older than twenty, all deadly grace and poise. As if Natasha had shrunk down to five feet and rocked black hair lightly curled. "I need an eye on the unknown enhanced. Hill, are you seeing this?" He slammed his shield into one of the bots, taking out three others with it's momentum. "One of yours now, Captain. Code name Blurr, she's a genetically modified mutant. Long story short, she can manipulate cell structure. She's the best certified field medic this side of the galaxy. She is at your disposal." Steve frowned. The blank look in the girls amber eyes struck something in Steve. Every move she made was calculated, not one iota of energy wasted. Where had he seen such emptiness before? Such agility, such focus, such mindless determination? ( _Who the hell is Bucky? Who the hell is Bucky? Who the hell is-_ ) He shuddered. "I don't know what game SHIELD is playing, but mark my words, Hill. We don't dabble in Winter Soldier protocols.", he hissed into his intercomm. Whatever response Maria planned to give was lost in the rise of Ultron and his army. The girl disappeared from his line of sight. "Blurr, I need you to keep evacuating citizens. Is everyone making their way to the church?", he threw himself over two cars, landing a solid punch on a bot. "This is Blurr. Parameters accepted." The rest of his team echoed similar agreements.

He could investigate the unknown enhanced later. He had a job to do.

[break]

When the dust settles, the world will not remember the small half-asian girl darting through the streets. She will exist only in the memories of children, who dare to burn the image of her dancing figure into their fragile hearts. She will become folklore. A ghost in the night to ease the terrors this war will surely give rise to.

When the dust settles, the world will remember red and gold flashes and the throw of the american flag. They will remember the awesome power of the green beast. They will remember a a soaring falcon and a perched hawk and a weaving widow and a figure of steel with war at its fingertips.

When the dust settles, the world will remember the crater of Sokovia. They will remember the floating haven, the gentle hands of Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, true sons and daughters of the Motherland. They will remember the bright light of _home_ shooting up like fireworks on the fourth of july and for once- they will cheer Tony Stark's name.

When the dust settles, the world will not remember Brave.

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AN: BEEN A HOT MINUTE SINCE I POSTED HASN'T IT? Age of Ultron got me catching some feels so here's the start to a hopefully long-ass Pietro/OC/Wanda fic. Love me some twins. As always, drop a review! But if it's about the whole twincest thing going on, I'd save my breath and skip it. Peace assholes.

****BONUS:

[...hacking SHIELD FILES...]

WELCOME MR. STARK...|

...ACCESSING FILE Project B.R.A.V.E...|

...ACCESSING FILE Code Name BLURR...|

[Hello sir. JARVIS speaking. Here is what I've managed to pull so far from SHIELD databases.]

Name: Brave Young

Age: 23

Guardians: George and Rebecca Young

File Notes: Subject is able to manipulate cell structure. Seems limited only to 'human flesh' as put in lay-mens terms via Dr. Astrada. Experimentation paused as of 2003. Subject as been field tested. See file [****] for more.

Tony paused. "Keep digging, JARVIS. I smell gold."

[...Understood, sir.]


	2. Chapter 2

to be brave

 _There is a methodical grace to decompressing after a long battle. But even then, SHIELD knows just how to bleach it. How to starch it. How to make something once calm and relaxing into something clinical and archived. OR, the idea that SHIELD has paperwork for everything and Steve is bitter; but not because of the paperwork. Well, sort of._

[break]

Natasha, for all her deadly grace and stoic features, knew exactly what she was looking at ( _point your toes, mramor devushka, or I'll bring out the whi-_ ). She let out the smallest of sighs. She rolled her shoulders once. Twice. Another sigh. "What's all this racket about?" A figure drops from the ceiling and Natasha isn't surprised because who else besides her partner can navigate the air ducts like a pro? So the Hawk and the Widow stare through the glass as an industrial hose rains down on a small girl. She's got long black hair hung around her shoulder like a drowned puppy, empty amber eyes staring forward- as if she could see through the shadowed glass. "Code name Blurr. She was the medical help on the scene in Sokovia.", she muttered. Clint whistled. If he were a lesser man, he might have romanticized the curve of her full bust, or the peak of her pert bottom. He might have traced the valley of her chest into her small middle, legs promising lithe strength and speed. But he was an agent of SHIELD. His sharp eyes took in her muscled biceps and tight core, the thick callouses on her feet and hands. He methodically took apart her short frame, her small face, her delicate bones ( _I've got you now, okay? My name is Brave, I'm a certified doctor. I'm going to fix you, just keep your eyes on me-_ ) and he exhaled.

The water shut off. "Agent Blurr, if you could exit to your right. Director Fury and Captain Rogers are ready to debrief you.", a voice commanded over the P.A. system. The five-foot medic slinked off from view. "Does this make us voyeurs? You know, for watching her shower?", Clint wondered aloud. Natasha snorted. "Oh baby, talk dirty to me.", she remarked dryly. The two assassins exited the viewing room. They had a debriefing to catch.

[break]

They were really fond of yelling. At least, that's what Bruce thought. Cap was starting to turn red and the vein on Fury's neck was pulsing. "We are not HYDRA, Fury!", he hissed, slamming his hands on the table before them. Fury twitched. "I know that, Rogers, but what you fail to understand is-", Captain cut him off here, "What? What is there to understand? SHIELD tried to make their own little winter soldier and when that failed, you let her loose. Oh, but not before covering your tracks, am I right? Not before having her kill her own parents!" Tony whistled. "Ladies, ladies, there is no need to fight. You're both beautiful! So unless you wanna duke it out in a vat full of chocolate pudding, I'd suggest we put this behind us and deal with the situation on hand. Like the fact that said girl is right here. Osay itquay ightingfay aboutway itway!" Bruce winced. That was their Tony, alright. He had such a way with words.

The girl in question sat gracefully in her seat before them. Her long black hair was efficiently pulled back into a french braid, amber eyes staring forward and unblinking. "Director Fury and I have reached an agreement, so there's no need to argue Captain Rogers. This is what I was meant for- all he's done is remind me.", her dulcet tone seemed flat. Fury cringed. "You can't tell me she didn't come in handy. She saved lives out there, Rogers. Hell, she even managed to save the Maximoff boy, didn't she? Forty-seven shots, centered on his chest. And she brought him back." His one eye dared Steve to retaliate. Well, never let it be said that Steven Rogers ever backed down from a fight. "My issue isn't with her mutant abilities. My issue is with the fact that SHIELD played with her DNA like it was a My Child's First Nucleotide kit. Programmed her like some sort of- some sort of robot! Like she wasn't even human!" The tension in the room was rising. "I get you're all butt-hurt about your winter soldier- and yeah, maybe this hits a little too close to home! But she's here now, Cap. And she isn't going anywhere any time soon.", Tony tugged at Steve's elbow. The super soldier huffed before dropping his shoulders and breathing in deeply. He turned to face Brave.

"My name is Steve Rogers. I'm the Captain of the Avengers Initiative.", he offered kindly. The girl blinked. "I-er, the people, I guess, they call me Captain America. I'll be your...leader? Yes, you're leader from here on out." She seemed to respond to that, slinking upwards into a straight stance. "Understood. Agent Brave Young, codename Blurr, sir." She passed a glass tablet over. "My files should be available for your use." Tony stole it before Steve could grasp it, tapping away on it merrily. Clint swerved in front of Steve. "Hey, you! Do I know you?", he asked eagerly. Brave gave a slow blink ( _laceration to the left bicep, contusion on the temporal frontal- shit, internal hemorrhaging starting to swell, need to ease it, need to fix, need need need-_ ) and nodded. "St. Petersburg. 2009.", her hand reached out to trace the silvery scar above his left eyebrow. "No way. I call bullshit. You must have been, what? 16? You were born in '93.", Tony raised an eyebrow, pulling her information up on the clunky monitor before them. His lip curled. SHIELD tech was always so...dated. Brave gave him a dry smile. "Child soldiers are not unheard of. Especially when the soldier in question is a mutant who can play human bodies like their silly putty.", Clint muttered. Her hand was still ghosting over his face, as if she were watching the wound in real time.

Natasha stood back, watching the scene in front of her unfold. Fury looked agitated (and dare she say it, guilty?) and Tony was busy hacking away at SHIELDS firewalls. Steve was (failingly) trying to connect with the young girl while she piece apart Clint's body in a mind game of operation. Bruce was sorting through some paper files on the table, frowning at the thick black lines marring them (deducted information, how curious) and Wanda was nowhere to be seen. If she had to guess? She was in med-bay with her twin. "Not that I don't love it when we get together, but I've got a mimosa with my name on it waiting at the tower. Director.", she gave a short nod before slinking out the room. The echoing steps of her teammates followed her. Natasha almost smiled. Back there, in the showering chamber, Natasha knew exactly what she was looking at. It was her duty, then, to fix her. Like how Clint fixed her. Like how Steve wanted to fix James. Natasha had peeked behind the glass and had found a doll, and now it was time to give it life. Natasha just hoped she could be br- she snorted. She hoped she could be brave. "Oh, the irony."

[break]

Pepper hummed as she played around with her Stark pad, zooming through the schematics of the building. When Tony had redesigned the place after The Battle Of Manhattan, he had cordoned the top fifty floors for the Avengers. The top floor belonged to Clint and Natasha, who had always felt better high up. Thor had an empty room up there as well, but spent most of his time with Jane on the residential floor for scientists (and Darcy, but she liked to think she was an honorary science bro). She and Tony shared the floor directly below the assassins. Below them was Steve's and Sam's, with a space for Bucky. That left the last residential floor for the Maximoff twins and...and Brave. She hesitated. "JARVIS, has SHIELD sent any belongings for Ms. Young over?" She exited on to the communal floor, with it's theatre sized living room and sweeping windows. The kitchen behind it gleamed. "Steve must have made them tidy up.", she thought fondly, dragging her hand across the dust free furniture. "It seems they have sent one box forward, Ms. Potts. Its contents reveal a STARK pod, a few photo frames, an odd amount of medical supplies, and…", JARVIS hesitated. Pepper frowned. "What? What is i-", the AI cut her off, "Dog tags. A box of dated dog tags." Pepper dropped her tablet. What in the world was a twenty three year-old doing with dead men's metal?

[break]

"Welcome to Avengers Tower, Young! This is the communal floor for Earth's Mightiest Super Heroes. To your left, we have a game room. To your right is the kitchen and dining area. And before you? My pride and joy. The living room!" Tony beamed at her. The living room was a hodge-podge mix of bean bags and broken-in leather recliners, one long and curved couch between them all. Strangely enough, there was a padded swing hanging from the air vents. The wall to ceiling windows showed the best of Manhattan- gleaming water and towering skyscrapers (none taller than the Avengers). There was a large balcony with a small garden growing connected to the bar. A strange, metal pathway led out into open air. Tony continued, "You'll be sharing a floor with Speedy Gonzalez and Sabrina, the teenage witch." The group seemed to migrate on to the couches. Natasha was already in the midst of making herself a mimosa, handing something sweet-smelling and blue to Clint. "The twins are in med-bay still. Pietro is throwing a fit, claiming his 'sweet angel' had already fixed him up.", he snickered, taking a long sip. Eyes turned to Brave.

( _Gunshot wounds. .40 caliber, forty-seven shots, centered to chest. Remove them, Young. Nudge the cells. They need to knit. Focus on the organs. Keep the blood inside, not out. Heart rate is slowing, give it a pinch. There. Keep knitting. Keep moving the blood. Here, first breath. Life._ )

Brave gave them a bland smile. "He should be fine. He was only dead for seven and a half minutes." Steve laughed nervously. "Yeah. Only seven minutes.", Bruce muttered incredulously. Clint had climbed up to his padded perch, happily sipping away at his drink ("It's a Blue Hawaiian. Had one during an Op in Maui and let me tell you-") while kicking his feet back and forth. "I-I'm not sure what I should do. Do I rest in the barrack's until our next mission?" Her head tilted curiously. Tony wasn't sure if he wanted to coo or scoff. "Lady Brave, you are a warrior of ours now! Surely you jest? Shall we not henceforth commence revelries? We have stopped villainous Ultron's obliteration of Midgard! This calls for celebration!" The tall, blonde god cheered as he doused his beer with some sort of liquid that looked like a melted galaxy. Natasha gave her smirk. "You drink, Young?", she asked as she polished off her Mimosa. She reached for the vodka and poured herself a healthy dose. "I don't think that's a good idea. I'm your tool. Shouldn't you want me sober?" She sat crisscross on the floor, picking at the fluffy white carpet. Bruce opened his mouth to counter that when the doors to the elevator opened. The twins.

Wanda whispered quietly to her brother, orbiting around him like the moon to the earth. "Should you not rest? Pietro, please, take a nap at least.", she begged. He slung his arm around her shoulders. " _Sestra_ , please! You overreact. That...that _kheruvim_ saved me! I am telling you, like an angel she came down and, and- there was a halo! I swear it!" His hands moved wildly to illustrate what Pietro was sure was divine intervention. Wanda rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. And then the _kheruvim_ whispered sweet nothings to you while working her magic. And she made my _brat_ feel all warm and fuzzy and numb while she healed your wounds. What? Did she flutter her eyelashes at you while she pulled the millions of metal bullets out?" Wanda laughed at Pietro's pouting face. "Don't look so down, _brat_ , perhaps you'll meet your _kheruvim_ again one day." Natasha snickered from her place behind the bar. Steve and Bruce took refuge in the kitchen, making dinner for the team of nine. Rhodey was in DC, soothing ego's and the Vision was touring planet Earth. " _Vash kheruvim pryamo zdes'!_ ", she jutted her chin towards Brave, jeering. The twins froze. Slowly, as if scared of spooking her away, they turned their faces away from each other to look at the girl before them.

" _Kheruvim._ "

[break]

AN: Here is the next installment, assholes. Twins and Brave finally make contact! Woo! *throws confetti* So review. Drop a note. Whatever! Also, take note that this is rated M for a reason. There will definitely be explicit scenes later on.

****BONUS:

[Sir, if I may, I have located footage of Ms. Youngs time in SHIELD capacity. It seems they kept clips of her experimentation. Shall I review it?]

Tony grinned. "Play it, JARVIS."

[an empty room. brave is sitting in a corner. two masked grunts pull in a broken figure. "fix her", a voice intones. brave shakes her head wildly. "fix her", it repeats. she screams. "I can't! I can't fix her! she is dead! deaddeaddead-", she slams her hands on the floor. "fix her", it commands once more. brave lifts her sobbing figure towards the still one, placing her hands on it. nothing happens. and then, the dead body shutters forward, as if shocked with electricity. brave screams. "this is wrong! so, so wrong, you should be dead-", she grabs the hand of the now alive body. it drops. "i told you to fix it. not kill it.", the voice says. the two grunts walk in, passing the body to grab brave. one of them lifts a gun to her temple. she keeps screaming. the feed cuts out.]

Tony is shaking. "J-JARVIS. Keep digging. Something is wrong here."

He shuts off his monitor, grabs his empty tumbler, and exits his lab.

[...Of course, sir.]


	3. Chapter 3

to be brave

 _The mind is a strange place to be. It is a place of doors and shadows and hidden nooks- out of time and place. Today, we shed some light._

[break]

Brave remembers hands. Big, thick fingers with thin pads. Harsh. Efficient. Unkind. They pull and they grab and they pinch and they squeeze- hands say more than words. The Maximoff twins have nice hands. The first one, the boy, has large, warm callouses. His are gentle and strong and reverent. He glides them across her own small fingers like she is made of glass ( _you are expendable. you are marble. you are unbreakable. I can't hurt you if there is no proof I ever did-_ ) and she blinks. The second one, the girl, has thin ones. With bones like birds, hers are long and graceful. She takes Braves face into her palm, soothing and cool, dragging the pads of her thumbs across her pink cheeks.

Brave thinks their eyes are quite nice as well. Wanda's are cinnamon brown, like something spicy and warm. The small creases are lifted happily and something like a fire has started in her stomach. Pietro has got these ice blue ones, wide and full of life ( _cold, so cold, always undressing her and dissecting her and probing her-_ ) and calm. Like he's centered himself around her. Something pivotal is happening, Brave thinks, but she just can't place it. It's like the earth has shifted, just by a millimeter- enough to notice, but then again, maybe not. She wants to say something, anything, because her training never covered this. Nobody told her what to do when their hands were kind. When their eyes were warm. Nobody taught her how to react to gentle touches or reverent gazes. Her cheeks flush. What does one say in this situation? She's a tool, she's expendable, she's-

(" _It would be so easy. I could just grab a knife and slide it across your throat and watch you bleed out. I could put a bullet between your eyes and let you fall still. I could end you. But that's a lie, isn't it? Because you always come back. Our greatest failure. We wanted a god, and we got an experiment we couldn't erase instead. A physical reminder of our mistake.", her words croon into the hollow of her ear. Brave doesn't move, doesn't flinch, doesn't speak- they'll only hurt her more if she does. "Serum X was supposed to epitomize you. Was supposed to make you better, stronger, faster. And it did. To a certain degree. But all you can control is yourself. All you can do is heal. We wanted destruction. You must be real brave, 24601. Real brave indeed, to spite us like this. You're own mother." Her heels clack on the metal floor. Her polished nails grip her neck. "Does this hurt, 24601? When I dig my fingers into your flesh?" Brave wants to tell her that it's less of the nails but more of her hands- that her touch is too clinical, too cold. She wants to say it is her gaze that really hurts. The steel brown cutting clean into her skin. But her airways are closing and her vision is spotting and it's getting harder to articulate these words in her head-_ )

She exhales. "Oh ho! Would you look at this turn of events! Looks like the eighth wonder of the world has attracted tweedle dee and tweedle dum! How...interesting…", Tony drawls as he sips at his scotch. Brave tilts her head, allowing herself to lean ever so slightly into the comfort of Wanda's palms before removing them from her face. "My name is Brave. Codename Blurr. I am at your disposal.", she stands to give a short bow. Thor frowns. Clearly, the Maximoff siblings are courting her, but she dares to so easily deny their affection? Even as she savours it? Midgardians- such odd creatures. "Peace, Lady Brave! The one who moves like wind is Great Warrior Pietro Maximoff, and she who knows intimately the mind is Lady Wanda!" He raises his beer in good cheer, welcoming the twins. Bruce peeks around the corner at the group gathered. "Steve wants you all to know dinner is ready." He figures they can wait the few seconds it will take them to see what they are having. Set on the large mahogany table before them is a veritable feast. Five roast chickens, a pot of gravy, three baskets of homemade rolls, green beans, mashed potatoes, and two bottles of wine are paraded before them.

The group fills in the space with an ease and grace that suggests they have done this before. The twins and Brave stand awkwardly. "Please, come sit! You can fill in the chairs beside me!", Clint pushes them forward. Pietro gets a wicked look on his face, and, upon seeing it mirrored on his twin, grins. "Well, it seems there are only three spaces left…", he trails innocently. Wanda smiles. "Since Ms. Potts is still to join us, I guess I will stand…" Brave blinks. "That's quite alright, I'll stand.", she offers. "Oh no! We could never ask you to do that!", Pietro gives a sly smirk, "Unless, of course, you are willing to share?" Brave adopts a curious look. In a flash of silver, Pietro is seated and tugging at the skin tight SHIELD suit she is wearing, pulling her on to his lap. She turns pink. Natasha laughs heartily at the twins obvious flirting, causing Clint and Tony to warily search the dishes. Nat doesn't usually laugh unless A.) someone is in pain, B.) someone is about to be in pain, or C.) someone is about to try and cause her pain and miserably fail at it (resulting in option B). " _Ti si veliki flert_.", she shoots. Sokovia speaks a blend of Russian, Serbian, and Italian. Most residents end up speaking Czech or German as well, considering it's smushed between Austria and the Czech Republic. Pietro give Natasha an outrageous wink and squeezes the girl in his arms a little tighter.

"I-I'm not sure this is an...efficient...way of sitting.", she stutters, finally breaking the stoic shell she presented at first. She feels his chest rumble in laughter. "No, it is not.", he agrees, "but it is much more enjoyable, no?" Wanda smiles warmly at her, tucking her little hand into the space where Brave and Pietro's thighs meet. Pietro accepts a loaded plate from Thor, and with one hand, offers her a roll ( _something hot is pooling in her stomach. something in her head is screaming, banging on the walls, begging to get out. brave wonders why. it's safer this way. it's clinical, it's efficient, it's- numbing, damning, what they want-_ ), and she accepts it. The bread is warm and sweet and buttery in her mouth. It tastes like being content, like warm sun rays, like home- and this surprising, because the only home Brave knows is the battle field. The heat of fresh blood, the cooling of flesh, the dimming of eyes and the invigoration of limbs; these are things Brave knows with awful intimacy. Not the warm, booming laughter of Thor, or the careless smirk of Natasha, or the content smile of Steve, or the eager grin of Tony, or the tired chuckle of Bruce, or the enthusiastic yelling of Clint, or cool hand of Wanda, or the strong arms of Pietro. These are foreign and odd things. They have never dragged something like this into her cell before.

Something in her pictures warm campfires and rumpled camo suits and shining dog tags. Something in her thinks of happy tears and greasy hands and bowed heads. Something in her knows a different life. Brave steels herself and locks this part of her up tighter. Life after the cell was a happy one (she thinks, she can't really remember without letting that part out and it's _just not safe_ ), but she can't afford to show it. Can't give them an inch. She drops the roll ( _don't give them an inch, kid, just run, ok? the enemies are getting closer and you can't save us all so don't give them a damn inch and just ru-_ ) and stands. The chatter hushes. "I am a tool. Tool's dull when not in use.", she offers gravely. Tony gives a sigh and pats Peppers thigh. "I'm sorry you think that way. Why don't I show you your room? It's pretty late and you guys have had an eventful weekend. Tony can show the twins their rooms later." The redhead gently leads Brave by her elbow out of the room. The mood dims.

[break]

"JARVIS, pull up file coded beta youth dash beta." Tony drags a hand down his face tiredly, pulling up the projector monitor with a flick of his wrist. Wanda whispers to Pietro, soothing the distraught lines on his face. "I have looked, Pietro, and it is like hitting a wall. She just needs time, _brat_ , okay? Surely we can give her that?" She teases him, dancing her fingers across his nose. He gives her a hesitant smile before jestingly reaching forward with his mouth to bite at the wandering digits. Steve clears his throat. It is at this moment the twins entertain the idea that maybe the Avengers won't accept their intimacy. Their relationship. Pietro stiffens and moves to block Wanda from the teams line of sight. "It is the way we are." His voice is gruff. "And we will not change."

Bruce gives a low whistle. "Easy, terminator. Nobody is saying anything. Sure, it's...unusual, but hell. What about us is normal? I've got metal for a heart, Steve should be dead, Clint's a damn carnie, and Bruce has got an awful allergy to stress. We're not even gonna touch Natasha. So unless you're actively killing someone, don't sweat it. We uphold justice and the moral laws, not prejudices." Tony offers these words while sorting through the virtual files displayed before them. Steve gives them a small smile. "In my time, people got killed for loving. And I woke up and people are still getting killed for it. We'll protect you, Pietro. All of you." The mirth in his eyes dances as his words imply that yes, he understood their twosome was aiming to become a threesome and no, he really didn't mind. How could he when one of his loves was a dead married woman and the other a russian assassin? Pietro lets go of a breath he didn't know he was holding. The knot in chest loosens, ever so slightly.

"I want you to meet experiment 24601." Tony's voice is sad and tired and disgusted. His eyes are closed and his lips move to mime the words echoing.

( _An empty cell. The cradle in the center is still. The echoing cries go unanswered. The screen goes blank._

 _She's four here, and strapped to a metal gurney. She's screaming her head off and someone who looks devastatingly similar to the experiment is carefully cutting into her with methodical precision. The lacerations heal cleanly. The woman grunts approvingly. "Very nice, 24601." The screen goes blank._

 _A man is now in front of the camera. "This is Dr. Young, with experiment 24601. Healing factor has been acknowledged. It is I, and the other Dr. Young's belief that the key to the super soldier formula is in the manipulation of DNA. By combining traces of Eriksines formula and the DNA of mutant codename Mystique, we have been able to synthesize Serum X. Unfortunately, experiments 0 to 2460 have expired. Only 24601 exists. We acknowledge that maybe the introduction of the serum at the embryonic stage is what secured its success with this one. We will conduct the strength test." The camera pans to twelve year old 24601. Two men are standing before her. "24601, defeat them." The men advance. 24601's screams echo. The screen goes blank._

" _This is Dr. Young. Super Strength is not available to 24601." He frowns at the camera. The screen goes blank._

 _Now she is fifteen, and she is beautiful. A woman circles her. "You're my daughter, you know?" she says suddenly. The girl is blank. "Birth...it's a beautiful thing. It's the creation of life. Perhaps...perhaps the key to fulfilling the formula lies in a boy instead. Unfortunately, the serum has been wasted on you. It looks like we'll have to replicate it the hard way." Her heels clack as she exits the camera. Two men advance forward, thick and strong in physique. "Don't worry", the oily voice cooes off camera, "we've selected only the best for your mating." 24601 screams. The screen goes blank._

 _24601 is sitting blankly in the center of her cell. There is blood everywhere. The two men are dead at her feet and so are the two scientists. SHIELD agents mill through, cleaning the blood and caring for the girl. Fury taps on the glass of the camera. "This is Director Fury of SHIELD. Whoever is watching this, know that from this moment forward, we have sole guardianship of…", he trails off. "What's her name?", he barks to one of the grunts. The guy gives a shrug. Fury studies the girl. "Killed your parents, your tormentors, with your bare hands. You got guts kid. You…", he turns to face the camera. "SHIELD has full guardianship of Brave. Brave Young. So fuck off." and his fist meets the camera lens. The screen goes blank._ )

Bruce doubles forward and throws up the rich food in his stomach. Steve looks like he's about to follow him. Clint and Natasha have hard looks upon their faces as they rub soothingly on Bruce's back. Pietro is curled into his sister, shaking because that was them, once upon a time, that was them but they chose it. And she didn't. "Her files go on to record that she makes a half recovery. It says she tends to revert into a second form when forced. I'm gonna make a wild guess and say it's the 'I'm-a-tool-and-don't-deserve-love' one she's wearing right now.", Tony plays with his mashed potatoes, idly directing one of his cleaning bots to the mess on the floor. "My guess? Fury backed her into a corner. I've got reports that says up until the day of the Sokovia battle, she was fine. She was healing. But then the world was ending and Fury always needs a fucking trump card so he dusts her off like some old gun and shoves her out there." He stabs his fork viciously. The group collectively jumps when Steve shatters his wine glass. "He knew. He had to have fucking known. He knew the moment he faced her with her past, she'd be silly putty in his hands. Bastard just had to say the word and she fetched like a loyal dog. Because that's all she knew. So she locked that part of herself up that was growing and healing and became that pliable doll again. Because he needed her for the greater good." He spat these words out with a bitter anger, flexing his fists.

Pietro moans into Wanda's arms " _Tak ne chestno_! _Tak ne chestno_!" He shakes and he shakes and no amount of petting or brushing is soothing him. "I know, _brat_ , I know." She cooes softly into his ear. Tony sighs. "I didn't want to break this until I had more information. But look, remember the last scene? Fury was talking to someone. That camera was feeding to another source. That means someone out there knows about Brave. Knows what she can do. Probably funded it." Bruce, who looks a little less queasy, escapes to the kitchen to clean up dishes because it's calm and soothing and nobody really feels like eating anyway so he packs the food up and places it in the fridge. Pietro is upright like lightning has struck him. "We must protect _kheruvim_!" He insists, gripping the table so hard his knuckles turn white. "And we will", Clint cuts in, "But she needs help too. We'll have to take it slowly. Reintroduce the idea of freedom to her. Self identity." Natasha snorts. "She's got an identity, alright. It's just rooted in her job here." She stands to dust herself off. "You must change the parameters. The mission must not be protect the Avengers. It must turn into _become_ an Avenger. Once she understands that, it'll be a simple matter of de-programing her. Reminding her of who she used to be." Steve sighs. Easier said than done.

AN: Do I smell a plot on the horizon? Who the fuck knows. I don't. Drop a review or whatever. Later assholes.

***BONUS:

[Sir, I have uncovered the last major tower the signal bounced off.]

Tony swings his chair around to the monitor haphazardly. "Don't tease, Jarvy."

[The tower is located in Stuttgart, Germany.]

Tony collapses a little. He gulps.

"Cut off one head, and another three will grow back.", he hisses to himself, downing his tumbler of cognac.


End file.
